Month: August 2017

There once was a dude who put on shirt and pant
But could not remember his deodorant!
It was like his nose wasn’t even there,
So he wasn’t aware!
Without a good sense of smell,
He put the whole world in hell!
He stunk like a dump
And then became a big grump
Because his mother insisted
And he always resisted
Because he was already dressed
And his mom was a pest
Saying, “Get in the habit!”
And he would hop off like a rabbit
So he would not do this chore
And he smelled like a wild boar!
The world would agree, this is a basic concern
And would do anything to help him learn!
For oxygen we all must pant
Dude, Please wear your DEODORANT!

I was reading a National Geographic magazine on Tuesday August 8 2017. It had an article about a Climate Change documentary called before the flood. I then checked it out of the library and watched it with my mom on Friday.

I knew who Leonardo DiCaprio was just because he was a famous actor and I had seen him in two movies. However I was not aware that he was an environmental activist who was bringing awareness to people about Climate Change. In this documentary it shows him around the world where he witnesses firsthand the melting ice and rising sea levels which are washing away people’s homes. Much of it focuses on the causes being fossil fuels and the reluctance of people to switch to renewable energy sources. However I was glad that the impact of the beef industry was also mentioned. This is because even if we eliminate coal and oil as fuel sources, the methane produced by millions of cows and the deforestation required to raise them make the problem of Climate Change so much worse than even the fossil fuels do. For this reason I suspect that many people will go vegan as a result even if they don’t care about the suffering of animals or respect their life. Additionally, the plants that currently are fed to those animals could instead be feeding the human population if people simply stopped breeding the animals but grew the same number of plants.

I recommend this movie to anyone who is skeptical about Climate Change or has friends and family who is not convinced that Climate Change is real.

I have a topic that may be good for a podcast but that I also want to write about because it ties some other subjects together as well.

This video a woman talking about how when she took birth control and gained weight. Then when she went off, lost the weight, then when she started again she gained weight again and this is how she figured out what the cause was.

Listening to the video inspired me to write about this topic. Obviously, since most people don’t like gaining weight, that alone is enough reason for them to find an alternative to birth control pills. But that’s not the only risk. I also looked up the specific type of birth control she showed that she had been using. Here is a quote of the side effects.

These side effects are most likely applicable to other brands of birth control pills as well since putting huge amounts ofhormones into your body is going to have a variety of effects.

This is not the first time I knew that there were dangerous side effects of women using hormonal birth control. However it’s not the type of thing I usually talk or write about. Anyone who follows what I say already knows that I find birth control unnecessary since I advocate celibacy instead for avoiding pregnancy and STDs.

However, after listening to this woman’s video, I have considered that perhaps many women are not aware of the risks that come with using hormonal birth control. So I want to bring awareness to this issue and also recommend the alternatives they can do instead.

Since birth control pills are neither 100% effective at preventing pregnancy and also provide 0% protection against diseases, they should be dethroned as

1. Celibacy

This is a no brainer for people like me and my cohost Monique who do the Celibate Vegan Voices show. I’m hoping to talk about this in an episode because it’s relevant to several things happening in society. It’s the only true 100% way to prevent getting pregnant or getting sexually transmitted diseases. For this reason it will always be the best option but is certainly not the most popular for most people.

2. Condoms

Another option is condoms which reduce the risk of pregnancy and spreading of STDs but are not 100 percent effective.

Here is a quote from Planned Parenthood about the effectiveness of condoms.

“How effective are condoms against pregnancy?

If you use condoms perfectly every single time you have sex, they’re 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. But people aren’t perfect, so in real life condoms are about 82% effective — that means about 18 out of 100 people who use condoms as their only birth control method will get pregnant each year.”

3. Sterilization

Vasectomy and Tubal Ligation are surgeries that help prevent pregnancy. They are pretty close to 100% effective but not quite according to Planned Parenthood.

There are 3 main reasons that people need to avoid using hormonal birth control pills.

1. The health risks as already mentioned.

2. Birth Control Pills are Not Vegan

You can be sure that most, if not all, methods of hormonal birth control are either derived from or tested on animals. Vegans do not support harming animals and as such must seek a non-hormonal method of contraception. Here is a quote from Lindsay S. Nixon on the subject.

“As far as I can tell, there is no truly vegan hormonal birth control option (i.e., birth control pills), but other non-hormone options exist for vegan pregnancy prevention.

I’m unable to research every single pill option or brand on the market (there are just too many), but the ones I reviewed all contained some form of a milk ingredient, or some other animal derivative. Research online suggests this is true for every hormone-based birth control pill.

Although I have not researched to confirm this, I think it’s probably pretty likely that birth control pills are tested on animals, or they are owned by parent companies that engages in animal testing (regrettably, as this is the “nature of the beast” with nearly all pharmaceuticals).”

If you’re pro-choice/pro-abortion, this will be irrelevant to you but if you’re pro-life/anti-abortion, you may want to consider that buying birth control from a business that also performs abortions is funding the same people who do abortions. As such pro-lifer must either buy from a source that does not do abortions.

It’s important for me to mention also that just because I included a quote and two links to Planned Parenthood’s website. This does not in any way imply that I approve of or recommend them for any services. I quote them because of their influence in America but not because I like them. I want them defunded the same way I want the meat, dairy, and egg industries defunded.

4. Saving Money

Buying birth control over years will end up costing a lot of money. Someone who remains celibate or gets a sterilization surgery will end up saving money that they can then use for something else.

Conclusion

People who are currently on hormonal birth control pills need to be aware of the options available to them. They can seek healthier and more ethical options.